A Trip to the Zoo
by Yippie
Summary: Two year old Harry and his parents go to the Zoo. Harry seems to find quite a bit of trouble.  JK Rowling owns all characters


Harry had just passed his second birthday. Lily had insisted it was time to take him to the petting zoo. James had reluctantly agreed. So after one flight-by-floo-powder and a long drive James was carrying a toddler on his shoulders.

"He's never going to remember this Lily. We should of taken him in a few years."

"Dada horsy now." The toddler demanded. James hesitated a second and to whining intensified, "HORSY NOW!" James groaned and leaned forward. Moving his arms in legs in an awkward unison he galloped a few paces across the zoo. Harry laughed hysterically.

"Alright kiddo, time to get down." James said mildly as he removed the toddler from his back. Harry mopped for a second, then ran off to see a fire salamander.

The zoo clearly marked which animals were safe to pet and which you should keep a good distance from. The fire lizard fell in the latter category.

"Harry stay close." Lilly reminded him gently, but the toddler was already trying to get a foot through barrier. James stepped forward and pulled the boy back, placing him gently back on his shoulders.

"Let's go see the goats, I'm sure Harry will enjoy that," Lilly suggested. Harry clapped his hands enthusiastically.

"See, Harry's excited."

James rolled his eyes, "Hey, Harry, what do you think of spending a day watching the ministry of magic discuss proper control of flying memos?" Harry clapped just as enthusiastically as he had at the prospect of petting goats.

Putting Harry down near the goat enclosure, James rubbed his back and stood up.

"You know Lilly, that boy is going to get us kicked out of here one day."

"Relax James, he's having fun. Why don't you conjure us up some lunch?" They had brought a small amount of food to enlarge for lunch, but when James reached down to take out his want he found it missing.

A employee spared him the difficulty of looking for the wand.

"Sir is this your child?" she asked politely, her hand firmly placed on Harry's back.

"Yes maam, thank you, he was over in the goat encloser…"

"Yes poking a goat with this," she held up James's wand and he gladly accepted it, "perhaps young Harry would enjoy playing in our play area?"

The play area was designed to look like a large dragon. Child swarmed around climbing up the scales and sliding down the fiery breath. Harry went off immediately, and Lilly stood by to watch him. James enlarged there lunch, a few hotdogs and a package of coleslaw. Lily urged Harry off the play set and they sat down to eat.

Harry, as was typical for him, left halfway through the meal. His parents watched him go to the play set, then returned to their own meals.

After they finished their meal, Lilly got up to retrieve Harry and James wandered off to see the bovines. Unlike the cows owned by muggles, these cows produced a clear ingredient useful for potion making when milked.

James groaned, almost predictably Harry was standing nose to nose with an angry bull five times his size. The boy seemed totally unaware of the danger.

"Harry," he snapped, "get out he right now."

Harry nodded and jogged with cheer towards his father, just as Lily came racing up, absolutely distraught.

"James, Harry is missing. I've informed the…" she sighted Harry.

"Do I want to know what happened?" she asked carefully.

"Our son was having a nice conversation with that bull right there." James pointed to the bull, which was the biggest one there, "Brave kid we have, shall I contact Hogwarts and tell them to reserve a seat in our old house in nine years?"

"Let's wait and see if we all survive that long first."

"Well I think it is good practice for me son, imagine what manner of beasts he will face in a few years, centaurs, unicorns, the occasional hippogriph. Maybe he'll even get lucky and meet the giant spiders they have rumors about. I'd always wanted to see them."

Lily rolled her eye at her husband's childish antics, "I on the other hand would like to see my son reach his third birthday without being marred by a bull or needing reconstructive surgery from being kicked in the face by an irate goat."

"Sir and Mam," the same tour guide who had returned Harry earlier, "I'm going to have to ask you to retrieve your son and leave the zoo. Maybe another time, when he is a little older."

Lilly smiled politely, "Of course, I'm sure he is getting tired by now. Where is he?"

The guide led them to an area in the back of the zoo. There, sitting contentedly in a pile of mud, dirt, and what James sincerely hoped wasn't animal droppings, was Harry.

"You're getting him out of there," Lily insisted, "after all, he takes after his father."

Fortunately Harry chose that moment to crawl out, and give his mother a big hug.


End file.
